Here are some pics of my new appendage controller.
I'll give a better description later when I'm sure my PC won't freeze half way through it.

Edit 27th April
I've just built a new i5 3740 running WIN7 64bit, 8G ram, and for some strange reason the sudden freezes after typing a friggin epic, (which are lost completely, unless you're in the habit of copying your text) have stopped happening!
Absolutly silent, boots in 30secs, very happy.

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_________________What makes a space ours, is what we put there, and what we do there.Last edited by Uncle Krunkus on Sat Apr 27, 2013 5:35 am; edited 1 time in total

I actually thought it was a particularly well armed little worm! But a baby snake kinda works. It's made from a piece of bone, and acts as a nut for the two guitar strings which will be incorporated later. The softpot will lay under the thinner, A string along the edge. The other string (a bass guitar D string tuned up to E) will be more of a drone string, like you get on a Tamboura.
The other pic is my hand made pickup winder. The pickup drops into the rear handle position. I started out with an old Tasmanian Oak drawer front. Probably off a wardrobe or dresser._________________What makes a space ours, is what we put there, and what we do there.

I started out with an old Tasmanian Oak drawer front. Probably off a wardrobe or dresser.

A mate of mine had an old wardrobe with some drawer fronts exactly like that.

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The other pic is my hand made pickup winder. The pickup drops into the rear handle position.

dont forget to soak that coil in some wax.... 6500 turns of goodness ?_________________In an infinite universe one might very well
ask where the hell am I
oh yeah thats right the land of OZ
as good an answer as any

dont forget to soak that coil in some wax.... 6500 turns of goodness ?

Yeah, I'm gonna have a go at potting it, but it's definitely not a "normal" pickup. I wanted to use up the enamled wire I had on hand, which is about .2mm. Normally pickups use wire which is about 1/5th that thickness, and you could fit about 20000 turns on with that stuff. This has only about 3-4000 turns, and will probably end up with a resistance of about 1K. (standard guitar pickups have about 5-10K)
So it's a bit of a steampunk vintage. The kind of pickup Michael Faraday would have been able to wind, if he'd known why anyone would bother! (He actually makes an appearance in my family tree BTW )
I'll see what it puts out on the scope, and probably buffer/amp it with a TL071. I'd like the string output to have the option of 5Vp-p so it has the potential for a modulation source. Seeing as how the softpot will be tethered to the Appendage anyway. I may even send +/-15V in for the onboard conditioning.

BTW, if it works out well and looks as beautiful as I think it will, it will be up for sale to a good home. Won't be cheap though, you can imagine how much work has gone in already, and it's far from finished._________________What makes a space ours, is what we put there, and what we do there.

I mocked it up the other night to get an idea of what all the elements look like together. Just used orange hookup wire for strings (wanted to check they lay over the Softpot and Pickup centre in just the right places, and they do! )

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The basic body shape. I still need to finish this with Linseed oil. But I want to check that it'll be worth the effort first!

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Here, you can see how the pickup is made, and how it sits in the body cavity. The middle block still needs to be drilled for 4 pole pieces. (This is going to be a very exacting job, which is next on the list)

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I put some thin double sided tape in the bridge and stuck the trimmed piezo element on it, solder connections down to keep them cosy. This is a bad pic I know, but you can see the piezo edge through the string holes in the extra bridge plate which goes on

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This is quite a good shot of the strap peg which also incorporates a plate for the saddle screws hang off. (yes I know one of those saddles is upside down, now! Strung it up just to find that out! lol!)

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Okay, the pointy end! Everything is good here, but I need a wide, brass, U shaped hold-down, just behind the nut, as the machine heads sit a bit high to guarantee a good hold on the nut slots (when they happen!)

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_________________What makes a space ours, is what we put there, and what we do there.

This is a really nice shot. Shows the texture of the wood nicely, note the pickup top is Queensland maple, the body is (probably) Tassie oak.This is where the softpot will disappear into the body. I'll have a small 3way DIL socket here to plug it into.

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Then it will get covered by this little brass plate.

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Then we attach the wing. It's made from the same bovine rib bone which the nut is cut from.Keep in mind there will still be a considerable brass undercarriage(?) dropping about 5cm from the bottom edge, and going up the back to shield all the wiring.I'm

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_________________What makes a space ours, is what we put there, and what we do there.

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